Skin & Bone
by piercesalvatore
Summary: Following the disappearance of her boyfriend, Caroline moves to Mystic Falls to live with her mother who harbors an old family secret. As she learns the ropes of what she's destined to become, she's getting a lot more than she bargained for when a certain Mikaelson comes into her life.
1. Prologue

Prologue

 _October 13, 2008_

There was a chill that settled around her body, a shiver causing her arms to unconsciously wrap themselves around her torso. The fog was damp and endless along with the smell of burnt wood and trees all around her. She toed out of her shoes and walked across the damp ground. Dirt, pine needles, and leaves of different shapes and colors stuck onto the soles of her pasty feet. She took a deep breath, summoning the wakefulness her body needed.

Her eyes opened. A shadow hurried through the trees along with another following close behind it, making Caroline blink a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. That's when she heard a very sharp scream coming from within the forest.

She didn't know how to react. The yell sounded male, and in pain. Maybe dead. She shook the last thought from her head and hurried back towards her tent. Her hands fiddled with the zipper quickly, hearing a sleepy moan coming from inside.

After opening the flap, she rested her eyes on her boyfriend of two years, Enzo Jamison, to see he was still happily asleep. She sighed at the sight of him. He was three years older than her - making him nineteen and Caroline sixteen - with pale skin and black hair with brown eyes that had a spark in them whenever she was around him. Caroline wouldn't trade him for the world. He was just _that_ good to her.

Bill, her father, and Steven, her step-father, weren't very keen on their relationship at first. But that was when she was a freshman in high school and Enzo was a junior, so Caroline didn't see what the big deal was. Though, when Enzo graduated, something changed in her parent's views on her boyfriend. He had always been, say, a "bad-boy", the one a father wouldn't hesitate to threaten with a shotgun. The change in Bill and Steven was evident through endless late night pick-up's at Joe's Tavern in downtown Chicago, or the calls they received from the Chicago Police Borough. It wasn't Caroline that always got in trouble. It was Enzo.

From that point on, Caroline was forbidden to see Enzo. Because her parents looked at him as a bad influence. Caroline didn't look at him as bad, though. Sure, he was sarcastic and a little rough edged, but when he was around her, he was different. A good different. He tried his hardest at treating Caroline like a princess, which in turn made Caroline treat him like her matching prince.

There was another scream that sounded closer. It made Caroline kneel down beside her sleeping back, reaching over to Enzo. She shook him slightly, watching as his eyelashes fluttered.

"Enzo?" she whispered hurriedly. "Enzo, get up."

His eyes opened, letting out a sleepy sigh. "Caroline..."

"I know, I know, but I heard a scream."

"There's probably a camp nearby." His voice disappeared, sleep taking him under.

"Oh, no, you don't." Caroline straddled his hips and shook him with her lower half. Her hands ran over his bare chest. "Come on, Enzo. Someone could be hurt."

"Not my problem," he said in his delicious accent, eyes remaining closed.

She wiggled around until his eyes shot open. A smirk played across her lips.

He looked at her through a lustful gaze. "Look, Gorgeous, as much as I'd love to-"

Another scream caught in the air, making Enzo sit upright, their noses almost touching. He had his hands on her sides, keeping her close.

"Told you," she said. "Something's wrong."

Caroline grabbed a v-neck from his suitcase and handed it to him. Watching as he pulled it over his head, she watched his muscles ripple from under it. Her stomach turned into pleasurable knots that she tried not to think of.

She got off of him and watched as he pulled on the rest of his clothes; including his leather jacket that he wore everywhere.

He laced his hand in hers and pulled her from the tent. If they were going to figure out what was going on, they were going to do it together. She had no problem with that, besides the fact they could very well die.

The air was chilly on her face once they started walking away from their camp. She zipped her jacked closed and nestled her face in the collar.

"Where did it come from?" Enzo asked.

She pointed ahead of them. "This way. Just...keep going straight and we should find out whatever we heard."

He sighed, following her order.

A few minutes passed and they couldn't find anything. This didn't stop them from going further into the forest. Taking a few more steps into the foliage, Caroline felt eyes on her, a funny feeling pulling at her stomach.

She turned around for a moment, scanning the scene to see if anyone was around. "I don't think-"

Enzo screamed, his hand suddenly leaving hers.

"Enzo?" she whirled around and found nobody there. "Enzo!"

Shouting was all you could hear falling from her lips. He was gone. This person, who she loved more than anything, was gone. The weight fell onto her shoulders, the questions coming into her mind at the loss. Where was he? What happened? Who did this? She couldn't answer any of it. She couldn't even think.

Tears filled her eyes, a loud sob forming at her mouth. His name was the only thing she could scream for. What she wanted was to be in his arms, wrapped around her in a state of comfort. All she had was her own, which were kneading the dirt, clutching for something to keep her stable.

Her hand felt something sticky and warm. The tears stopped falling. Her breathing evened out. She brought her hand towards her face and eyed it curiously. There was blood on her fingertips, dirt beneath her nails. The crying began again.

One person was on her mind. One person that was probably dead. _Enzo._

* * *

 _Author's Note : This concludes the prologue! I hope you guys like the story so far_

 _so don't hesitate to leave a review, follow, or favorite; whichever you prefer._

 _Of course, the next chapter is taking place a year after_

 _the events of the prologue so Caroline hasn't met_

 _Klaus yet, but don't worry. They'll be meeting each other really soon :-)_


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome to Mystic Falls

Ch. 1

 _Welcome to Mystic Falls_

 _September 11, 2009 - Present Day_

The Virginia forestry spanned across Mystic Falls in an endless sea of green as Caroline and her father drove down the usual foggy road into town. There was something peaceful about the town she grew up in, something about the patchy fogs and the endless monotone atmosphere the place gave off that kept her sane in the morning. The smell of pine needles and petrichor filled Caroline's nostrils as if it were a calming drug that she'd withdrawn from during her stay in Chicago. She could recognize the scent a mile away, because she knew it was home.

No matter how refreshing it was to be away from Chicago and closer to her hometown, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Like something didn't seem right as they drove past the green and white welcome sign towards town. She glanced over at the dash to see it was nearing seven in the morning. She let out a sigh and settled back into her seat.

Bill was behind the wheel, watching cautiously as they drove through the square. Caroline could already see the teenagers littering the sidewalks before making their rounds to school. It's been almost ten years since Caroline stepped foot in Mystic Falls. Ten long years away from the friends she made in elementary school. Ten years since she kissed Tyler Lockwood on the playground after making a bet with Dana Simpson that she could do it. Caroline chuckled at the memory.

The car halted in front of a one story house. It had white siding and three large windows with a porch that was once home to many tea parties when Caroline was younger. A woman, with short blonde hair, stepped outside dressed in a police uniform.

Caroline hasn't seen Liz in a very long time. Their relationship with one another wasn't as good as the one Bill and Caroline possessed, making Caroline tense at the stare Liz had on her.

"You ready?" Bill asked.

Caroline sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

She removed herself from the car and glanced at her mother for a quick moment before joining Bill at the rear of the car. She grabbed two of her four bags and began walking up to the porch. Liz gave Caroline a weak smile.

"Caroline," she smiled.

"Hey, Mom," Caroline greeted, placing her bags down for a moment to fake a smile and hug her mother. "I missed you."

"I'm a cop, Caroline," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I know when someone's lying."

Caroline pulled away, shrugging. "It was worth a shot."

Bill walked up behind them with Caroline's remaining bags. "Now, where should I put these?"

xXx

Caroline's bedroom was different than it was all those years ago. Once, there was a large dollhouse sitting in the corner. Now, it was replaced by a vanity by the closet. The walls were also cringe-worthy yellow, but had been repainted gray with the same color comforter across the king size bed. It was a room that Caroline actually wished she'd had back in Chicago.

"What do you think?" Liz asked from the doorway.

Caroling looked up from the bed she was sitting on. "It's nice."

"I thought you'd like it." Liz sat down beside Caroline. "Your father and I planned this whole thing a few months ago, so I knew I had to do some updating around here."

Caroline nodded, looking around the room. "So, what did you and Dad talk about?"

After settling in, Bill and Liz got straight to work on having a private discussion in the kitchen. Caroline contemplated listening in, but decided against it and began arranging her room.

"Just...stuff. Things adults talk about."

"And I'm not an adult?" Caroline was only slightly offended. She straightened up with poise.

"You're still sixteen, Caroline. Not twenty."

"I'll be seventeen in not even a month, so..."

Liz only chuckled, changing the subject. "Well, I actually have to run down to the station. There's been weird stuff going on around town."

This interested Caroline. "What kind of stuff?"

Liz hesitated. Caroline noted this and raised her eyebrows even farther. "It's nothing. Nothing you need to worry about, okay?"

The younger blonde decided not to go farther with the discussion, watching as Liz simply nodded her head and left her room. She'd find out eventually what it was about the town that gave her chills. Something in the air had changed, and Caroline wasn't at all afraid of digging up what her mother wanted to keep buried.

xXx

Caroline found herself settled in a booth at the local Mystic Grill; a menu in her hand, scanning the endless possibilities for dinner. Liz wasn't scheduled to return home until three in the morning, giving Caroline the space she needed to get familiar with her new surroundings.

A waiter, dressed in a company logo t-shirt, came to her table with a notepad in his hands. "Can I start you off with something to drink?" he asked impatiently, looking annoyed.

Caroline, feeling equally annoyed with his service, glanced at the menu for a beat too long.

"Can we hurry this up? I've got other tables."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'll have a coffee."

He sighed, jotting her order down. "I'll be right back with that."

The air in the atmosphere suddenly shifted. Caroline's waiter glanced at the group of people walking into the establishment. It was a tall blonde girl and two other men. One had on a suit and gave Caroline a sense of nobility radiating off of him; the other one was in a grey Henley and leather jacket, with necklaces hanging from his neck. He was very attractive, but the expression that rested on his face gave him less appeal.

"Great," the teenage boy said under his breath.

Caroline looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. "What?"

He looked at her, shocked. "You don't know the Mikaelson's?"

She shook her head.

"They're pretty intimidating. They moved here a few years ago and have since taken control of Mystic Falls."

"And...that's a bad thing?" Caroline didn't see what the big issue was.

"Look, I have other tables, not much time for chit-chat. Some words of advice: Don't piss them off; any of them."

"Why?"

She didn't have time for an answer before he was taken away by a server with a name tag marked 'Vicki'. The name rang a few bells, but she couldn't place where she knew the name.

The Mikaelson trio had separated. Suit was at the bar along with Henley, and Blondie was sitting with a group of people more her age. Caroline's age too. Henley was surveying the floor for something, or more like someone. He then smirked at something Suit said, dimples appearing out of nowhere that Caroline thought were adorable. But then his grin disappeared when he looked right at Caroline.

 _Shit,_ she thought, pulling out her phone and looking busy. She had just been caught oogling him. Well, not really oogling him. More like observing him with a feigned interest. Still, he knows she was staring and staring was never polite. Didn't she hear her waiter when he said "Don't. Piss. Them. Off."? Apparently not because he was still staring at her and making small talk with his buddy. Then he said something that made Suit laugh. A blush rose in her cheeks.

"Here's your coffee." The waiter appeared out of nowhere. He slid a mug towards her on a saucer. "Now, food-wise, what would you like?"

Taking a quick sip before answering, Caroline tasted something weird in her drink. "What's in this?" she questioned, setting the beverage down.

"Don't look at me. I'm not the one that made it."

Pushing past her curiosity, Caroline looked over the menu again and placed her order; a burger and fries - nothing fancy. She drank some more of her oddly tasting coffee when she heard someone say her name.

"Caroline?"

She didn't recognize the voice, but knew who it came from the moment he slid into the both across from her. Tyler Lockwood; her first crush and first kiss. He looked good, and by good, meaning puberty really did a number on him.

"Tyler?" she asked.

"Wow. It's great to see you," he smiled. "When your mom told us you were coming back, I thought she was bullshitting us."

"Us?"

"Yeah. My family. I don't know if she told Elena or Bonnie yet, but I'm sure they're going to freak out when they see you."

Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett were once Caroline's best friends. When she lived in Mystic Falls, they were the trinity around town that everyone knew about. On the playground, everyone wanted a friendship like theirs. After Caroline's parents split and she moved away, their bond was broken, and Caroline believed she'd never see her friends again. She was right. She never did.

Caroline sighed. "I don't know about that. We didn't keep in touch."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you guys will start talking again. Unless Elena's really serious about this guy she's been with and has no times for friends anymore."

He was gossiping, stirring the pot.

"Do you have a thing for Elena Gilbert?" Caroline teased. "I'm sensing underlying jealousy."

Tyler scoffed. "Not me. Matt."

"Ah," she said. "So, Elena and Matt? I never thought that would happen."

"None of us did. And they didn't work out either so, it looks like we were right."

Caroline laughed, taking a drink of her coffee. Now that it was cooling down, the strange taste was even stronger.

"What do they put in the coffee that makes it taste like this?"

"It's a herb that they put in everything they serve here," Tyler shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"Tyler," a girl said.

Caroline looked up to see the waitress, Vicki, approaching the table with a coffee pot. The way she looked at him and he looked at her told Caroline they were more than friends.

"Hey, Vic," he said. "Are you almost ready to go?"

Vicki poured some more coffee into Caroline's mug. "I have five more minutes. Your parents aren't home, right?"

Tyler grinned. "Right. They're out of town for some Founder's Council thing."

"Great." Vicki spun on her heels and left.

"Who's that?" Caroline asked.

"Vicki Donovan. Matt's sister." Tyler picked himself up from the table, giving Caroline a nod. "I'll see you at school?"

Caroline almost swore at the reminder. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah, I'll see you there."

She had to remember to enroll herself ahead of time, which is something she hoped Liz took care of. Caroline wasn't good at that sort of thing.

As soon as Tyler left, Caroline took some money from her purse and put it on the table as payment. That's when her food arrived, telling the waiter to just bag it up for her.

xXx

Whispers. They were everywhere. The sounds became too much, almost suffocating her. She gasped, looking around to see that she was in the middle of a fog-ridden forest. Her feet were bare and she wore the same outfit she did on the morning of Enzo's disappearance. Caroline's heart raced, fear pumping in her veins, wondering what was going on.

The voices continued, guiding her through the maze of her mind. She wasn't sure where she was, where she was going, or who she'd run into. But the whispers told her exactly that. She moved forward through a wall of vines and flowers. They had small needles that pierced her skin and clothing. She winced, the voices abruptly ending.

Caroline fell to the ground after getting her foot caught in a creeper. She shoved it off quickly and got back on her feet.

Everything stopped.

She felt her heart beat slower, her inner monologue pause. There, standing with his back towards her, was Enzo. His broad leather-clad shoulders were evident through the mist. Caroline wanted to run to him. At the same time, his presence was off and made her think twice about doing so.

"Enzo?" she said, voice echoing and coming out slower than it should've.

Slowly, she walked to him, her movements sluggish as if walking through quicksand.

She reached out for his shoulder while rounding him, standing in front of his face. He didn't notice her. He was staring ahead through the trees.

"Enzo..."

His eyes changed. They turned red, at the same time veins protruded around them, almost like popping out of his skin. The image colored Caroline confused and scared. His hands grabbed her forearms, pulling her towards his body. She tried screaming, but nothing rose.

His grip tightened, and a pain formed at Caroline's neck.

He was biting her.

Caroline cried out in excruciating pain. She wanted to scream, she wanted to shove him, yet she couldn't. Something in her head kept her movements trapped behind a barrier.

The darkness was sudden, however, frightening too, and all at once took Caroline under.

* * *

 _Author's Note : The feedback I've been getting so far has been _

_amazing, so thank you to those of you that have reviewed/followed/favorited. I've been so_

 _busy that I haven't gotten around to replies, but thank you to the nice_

 _words you all have been leaving._


	3. Chapter 2: Raven

_Author's Note: Thanks for the lovely reviews/favorites/follows so far! Keep it up!_

* * *

Ch. 2

 _Raven_

 _September 12, 2009_

Caroline jolted awake underneath her plush comforter in a cold sweat. Her body was pebbled in goosebumps, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Breathing rapidly, Caroline sat up and glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It read 4 o'clock. She sighed, placing her head in her hands after a image from her nightmare flashed in her mind. The dream, between her and Enzo, felt so real. It was so vividly done that Caroline truly thought that she had been there with him. Secretly she wished it was real, but not in the way she'd seen him.

The way his eyes changed left a mark in her mind that she couldn't remove, especially getting bitten by him. _What was with that?_ Caroline wondered silently in the darkness of her bedroom. Nothing could explain the way his demeanor had changed. It was monstrous, inhuman. The Enzo in her dream was far from the one she remembers loving. But, it was dream. There was no reality to it, nothing that could actually happen to Caroline. She chuckled at her thought, _I should probably lay off the vampires._ She grabbed _Twilight_ from her bedside table and turned it over in her hands, fingering the bookmark that peeked out at the top.

Suddenly, there was a pounding coming from her front door and the shuffling of footsteps coming from the next room over. Caroline glanced at her closed door, hearing a muffle of words that sounded like her mother's, followed by a few other people who she didn't recognize. She peeled back the sheets and got up from her bed, placing her ear against her door.

" _They're getting worse, Liz_ ," a voice said urgently. " _We have to figure out how to get rid of them._ "

" _This isn't 1864, Richard. They're smarter than they used to be._ "

There was a pause, and then another voice joined into the mix. " _What about the vervain? It's not working?_ " It was a woman, who sounded worried.

" _The experienced ones might know a way around the vervain. It can sustain them, but it won't kill them._ "

" _You know, Liz, you could always bring back the Forbes' legacy. The more hunters, the better,_ " Richard said.

Liz gasped. " _My daughter is just down the hall. She doesn't need to hear any of this._ "

Caroline furrowed her brow and removed herself from the door. She grabbed the door knob and turned it quietly, hoping she could get closer to the conversation.

A cell phone rang, causing Caroline to jump back and fall to the floor.

"Shit," she cursed, hoping nobody heard her.

"I've got to take this," the mystery woman stated, the sound of heels clicking against the hard wood heels disappearing out of sight.

"It's better if she's not here to tell you this," Richard said, sighing. "The vampires are becoming more of a problem, as you've seen lately. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Salvatore's are behind this."

"Wait, Stefan and Damon? But Damon's part of the Council. He's Zach's nephew. I don't think him or his brother would be an issue."

"Think about it, Liz. Ever since the Salvatore's stepped into town, everything went to hell."

"It's always been hell, Richard. Things started bubbling up once the Mikaelson's came to town, you and I both know that."

"I know that you've always had a thing about them that I could never wrap my head around, but they've become a good asset in this city. The managed to dwindle the supernatural occurrences in town when they got here, not by much, but they did. Did the Salvatore's contribute? No, they only made things worse this past month. The Mikaelson's aren't dangerous, Liz. We've slipped vervain in their drinks at every single event and we've never seen them fall to their knees in agony. They're clean."

Caroline picked herself up from the floor and inched her way down the hall, listening intently.

"You can't be serious. So, you're saying that the Salvatore's are..." Liz lowered her voice. "...vampires? That's crazy. I know Damon, and he's not dangerous."

"And I know the Mikaelson's, and they're not dangerous."

Caroline craned her head around the corner to get a good look at the living room. Liz was wrapped in a robe, while Richard was dressed in a suit, looking tense and on edge.

"We can pick and choose sides all day, Richard. It's not going to help."

The heels returned with a woman walking in them. She had short hair and pearls around her neck. It was obvious she was one of _those_ people.

"That was Logan. He said there's been another attack downtown. They've got police on the scene already so I'm guessing you won't be needed." The woman looked to Liz, who didn't seem bothered by that. "And we must be going."

Richard gave Liz a firm nod of the head before escaping through the front door with who Caroline assumed was his wife. She didn't recognize either of the two, but she might've known them years ago.

"Caroline," Liz said, finding her daughter plastered to the wall.

"Oh, uh," Caroline started, searching for a lie. "I just needed some water."

xXx

Chatter filled the air, and a sense of uneasiness set in Caroline's stomach. It was her first day at Mystic Falls High School, and she'd never set foot in the facility until today. She went to the elementary school when she was younger, which was located a few minutes from the high school, and never imagined she would ever go to school in Mystic Falls again, especially for the last four years that dictated where she'd go in life.

The walls were painted in stripes showing off Timberwolves school colors - red, black, and white - with tall grey lockers filling every nook and cranny. Caroline got familiar with the place quickly as she walked down the hall with forced confidence in her eyes. She was Caroline Forbes, she shouldn't get nervous easily. With her schedule clutched in one hand with the other wrapped firmly around her bag's strap, she scanned the lockers she could make out from where she stood. It was highly unlikely she was going to be able to find her own, factoring in that there were a bunch of kids just standing there without any real purpose.

Her locker, numbered 122, had to be close, given that she was on the first floor along with the 100's. She tried getting a glance at the lockers through the bustling kids when she was shoved rudely from the side, a girlish chuckle emitting into the air.

Caroline's icy glare cut through the girl that had pushed her. It was the girl from the Grill. She was much more intimidating up close. Her blonde hair was straightened with a strand pulled back into a bobby pin. Her glossed lips were pushed back in a smirk as she uttered something Caroline couldn't make out towards her posse of girls that hung onto her every word. Something about her friend's seemed...off. Their giggles and actions seemed mechanical. They didn't even dare step out of the group that was around their leader. It was if they were cattle forced into a fence that wasn't there.

The group walked away quickly once the first bell rang. Then the students around Caroline dispersed into each class in perfect symmetry.

She was finally alone and could make out the numbers near the top of the lockers on metal plates. _118, 119, 120,_ soon she found 122 and riffled around inside her bag for her assigned pad lock. After opening up the locker and placing her things inside, she grabbed her binder and a book to read in between classes from her bag.

Caroline wasn't anticipating the excruciating pain that went down her back in the next moments after slamming her locker door. She let out a hiss and turned around to see who the culprit was.

Yet, nobody stood there.

She eyed the hallway back and forth, seeing if anybody was around. Her back tingled as a reminder of the nail-like talons that she believed were behind the attack. It wasn't just regular old human nails that she felt. It was like an animal.

The pain disappeared as if it was never there in the first place, making Caroline believe that all was well after all, that maybe she was just hallucinating due to lack of sleep.

It wasn't.

She took a few steps away from her locker before she heard a girl bellow her name softly. It was almost a whisper, but it was nevertheless taunting.

The coast was clear as far as Caroline could see and she didn't think twice about what was going on as she approached her class down the hall. The whole time she kept her books clutched close to her chest and her eyes forward. She wasn't going to dwindle over whatever game this person was playing. If they weren't going to be the bigger person, Caroline would happily take their place.

The classroom that Caroline would sit in everyday as her first period was American History. Hung up on the walls were different kinds of posters with different quotes from different people, as well as a huge world map plastered in the back of the room that Caroline removed her eyes from. Her teacher stood at the front of the class and wasn't paying attention to Caroline's frame that stood in the doorway. He was talking about a battle that had taken place right in her hometown and was very passionate about the topic.

Caroline had to cough awkwardly to get his attention.

Mr. Tanner glanced away from the students and at her, pointing in her direction was looking down at the attendance book splayed out in front of him. "And you are?"

"Caroline Forbes," she said simply, moving towards his desk with uncertainty.

"Caroline Forbes, as in Liz Forbes?"

Caroline nodded and got a good look at the class. It wasn't very large, maybe about twelve people at best guess, so there were a few seats open up for her. She sighed in realization that she wouldn't be stuck up front, noticing that it was already occupied by a few people who looked bored with whatever the teacher was talking about. They did seem a little happy at Caroline's intrusion, though.

"Alright, take a seat. And welcome to American History," he said, not unkindly.

There was a seat open behind a girl with long brown hair and doe eyes, and it was right beside a boy who had an angular face and sculpted hair. She took the seat after making a quick decision between that one or one of the ones nearest the windows.

Mr. Tanner launched himself into a long lecture about Pearl Harbor, something that Caroline wasn't listening to. Instead, she was interested in whatever the girl in front of her and the boy beside her were talking about. It was kind of hard to not listen in, considering they were right there.

" _Psst_ , FYI, our team sucks, they could use you," the girl whispered, leaning over towards him.

Caroline tried not to comment on their chit-chat that was destined to be ended by the teacher if they weren't going to put a sock in it soon. They weren't being very discreet about it, either. Couldn't they just pass notes instead of interrupting Caroline's learning?

"Can't. I'm a loner," the guy said, eyes on their teacher.

Tanner saw them and called the girl out. "Miss. Gilbert?"

He asked her about Pearl Harbor, which, by no surprise, she couldn't answer on. But her friend could, giving the teacher the exact date on when Pearl Harbor happened.

Caroline tuned them out while the teacher and the student went back and forth on the dates of certain events. It was impressive, yes, but she was focused more on the raven that sat perched on the sill of one of the windows. It's beady eyes sent a shiver down her spine. Staring at her, it titled its head as if she was the most interesting thing it'd ever laid it's eyes on. Which was weird by normal standards.

She shifted uncomfortably underneath the birds gaze. She told herself she was being stupid, that it was just an animal that she shouldn't be getting all fidgety over. But it looked at her with such interest, so many expressions came from it's eyes, giving off an atmosphere that it wasn't just any ordinary bird.

"Miss. Forbes?" the teacher called, startling her.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Can you give me any details about Pearl Harbor?" he asked.

The students were looking at Caroline, and the girl in front of her gave her a strange look that she couldn't read.

"No, I can't," she answered truthfully.

Mr. Tanner looked disappointed in her answer, but seemed to expect it out of her. He turned towards the chalkboard and wrote down some terms that the class needed to know by the end of next week.

Caroline looked back over at the window to see the bird was gone. She shook her head, believing that it was probably never there in the first place and began jotting down some notes.

xXx

A soft breeze fell over the football field as kids tackled one another and made touchdowns left and right. Tonight was the first homecoming game of the year and everybody was in full swing for the event. The cheerleaders stayed off to the side in a group formation, doing different lunges and stretches to relax their muscles for their regular after school practice. They were dressed in short shorts and tank tops, the regular apparel that were mandatory for routines.

Caroline sat in the bleachers and thought back to when she was captain of the cheer squad in Chicago. It was something that she loved to do, but she wasn't planning on joining the Timberwolves. Mainly because Blondie was head of the squad, and Caroline didn't stand a chance.

A few rows away sat the guy she had History with. During the day, she heard that his name was Stefan Salvatore and that his girlfriend was Elena Gilbert, the girl who sat in front of Caroline during first period and who just so happened to be her ex-best friend. Bonnie Bennett, the other half of their used-to-be trio was also in the class along with Matt Donovan. Of course, they didn't really acknowledge her unless you count the looks they gave her throughout the day.

There was the sound of shoes against metal and Caroline peeled her eyes from the cheerleaders and watched Stefan descend the bleachers. She didn't know what he was doing, didn't really care either, but watched him anyway while he walked into the field towards Mr. Tanner, who also happened to coach the team.

She felt her phone vibrate in her bag. She sighed, searching for it and answering it with a hello.

"Caroline, I need you to come down to the station," Liz informed. There was a shuffling of papers coming from the other end and someone else's voice.

Fearing the worst, she bombarded her mother with questions. "Why? Did something happen? Is it Dad? Did something happen to you?"

"I just need you to get down here, okay?"

Nothing about Liz' voice had any evidence of any pain or fear or sorrow, she was just emotionless in every word she said.

"Yeah. I'll be there." Caroline ended the call and placed it back in her bag. She scanned the field quickly, watching as Stefan ran back onto the field dressed in a jersey with a matching helmet in hand, and bit her lip. Something had settled in her stomach, an uneasiness that she couldn't push away.

A few feet away from where she now stood, getting ready to march down the bleacher's stairs, was the raven from this morning. It was staring at her the same way it had before, creeping her out immensely. Tempted to throw something at it, she flicked her wrist at him a couple times and told it to shoo in place of hurting the thing. It took a few words for it to take off into the sky, but it did, and Caroline irritably trudged down the steps towards the parking lot.


	4. Chapter 3: William

Ch. 3

 _William_

 _Mystic Falls; September 15, 1864_

"Do you believe in monsters, Mr. Salvatore?"

The voice was treading worried, and the person behind it looked equally so.

Mr. Salvatore sat behind a old wooden desk that was littered with several books, papers, and a quill pen. He was scanning a letter from one of his relatives when he was struck with the question. Looking at William Forbes over his glasses, the older man let out a sigh and laid the piece of paper down.

"What has you thinking these absurd things, William?" Next he was going to ask if he thought pigs could fly.

William strode towards the large open window and glanced out into the darkening night, wondering how he was going to explain these strange occurrences to his fellow friend.

Giuseppe widened his eyes. "Well?"

William looked away from the window to glance at him. "Mr. Salvatore, I'm sure you're aware of the animal attacks that have come about in recent months?" After the blank expression he got in return, William took a seat in one of the leather chairs opposite of the desk. "We have a very major issue here, Giuseppe. There have been fourteen murders so far in the past month; all the same cases - bodies drained of blood, teeth marks all over the bodies, and if that doesn't make you wonder-"

"So, we have a wild animal on the loose. Nothing more that that."

William bowed his head. "I don't think you understand what I'm saying."

"I understand perfectly, William, that we have a wild beast running rampant through the streets, but what could I possibly do to minimize these events?"

The other man reclined forward with his elbows on his knees and a glint in his eyes like he had just found treasure. "Not just any beasts, Mr. Salvatore. Vampires."

Giuseppe looked revolted. "Excuse me?"

"There are vampires in Mystic Falls. And I think I know who the source of the attacks might be." William stood up from his chair and fixed his trench coat.

"Do you?" Giuseppe thought William a fool. "Well, who is it then?"

"Katherine Pierce, and I know exactly what I'll do to rid this town of her and her vermin."

xXx

 _Present Day_

There were two large windows with blinds over them behind Liz's frame standing abaft her mahogany desk. The clutter around her office was neatly organized, which Caroline guessed is who she got her own neatness from, and across from her desk sat a man that the younger girl could only peek at for a second before her mother's voice caught her attention.

"Caroline," Liz said approvingly, sharing a quick smile with her.

Caroline looked back at the man from the doorway and walked around the pair of chairs to her mother's desk to hand her a coffee she picked up at the Grill before coming to the station. She eyed his familiar face after finally standing a few feet away from him. It was Henley, and he was staring right her. She felt her heart almost drop at the sight of him. Up close, she could see the scruff along his jawline and could smell the cologne he wore. It was strong, but not too overbearing.

"Uh," Liz began. "Caroline, this is Klaus Mikaelson. Klaus, this is my daughter."

He didn't say anything. Caroline noticed the smirk that lingered on his lips, though.

Something in Liz's voice gave off a vibe that Caroline knew was bad. She shared a look with her mom, forcing a smile.

"Did I interrupt something?"

Klaus chuckled. "No, love. I was actually just leaving." He withdrew himself from the wooden chair and looked between the two girls.

He had an accent, which made Caroline swallow hard. The last person she spoke to with the same English tone was Enzo, whose face still haunted her to this day. Klaus saw how her body went tense, and his smile dimmed a bit. All the same, Caroline would be lying if his voice didn't make her weak at the knees. His voice added an extra amount of perfection to him.

Liz glanced at Klaus uncomfortably. "Right. Well, I'll make sure to get a larger supply for the Founder's Ball."

"A ball?" Caroline asked, intrigued by the idea of a dance coming up.

"Yes. One I forgot you'd be attending." Liz restrained from talking further to her daughter with Klaus in the room. "I'll keep in touch," she said to the man.

Klaus tipped his head towards her as a form of goodbye and out of nowhere grabbed Caroline's hand that was limp at her side and kissed her knuckles, holding it warmly in his much larger one. "It was pleasure to meet you, Caroline."

Blood rushed into her cheeks at their close proximity. Once his hand let go of hers and he exited the room, she finally let out a breath she didn't know she was keeping. Her hand was tingling, warming her to the core.

"That was Klaus," her mother said once he was gone. It was obvious she didn't like the man.

Liz approached the large black wooden doors into her office and shut them tightly. She straightened and looked back at her daughter.

"Take a seat."

Doing as told, Caroline sat down with her own coffee in hand, taking a quick sip as Liz assigned herself behind her desk. There was a shuffling of papers and the sound of typing at her mother's computer. She forced her eyes away from her and looked at a large picture hung on the wall of a man with a dark mustache and top hat. He had the body language of someone with prosperity and good fortune. Intimidation was clear through the hard expression on his face.

"Who's that?" Caroline asked, drinking her coffee silently.

Liz was writing something down on a manila folder when she shifted her gaze to the picture. "That's your father's ancestor William Forbes. The first sheriff of Mystic Falls in the 1860's."

"He seems..."

"Intense?" Liz smiled lightly. "That's because he was. Mystic Falls wouldn't be the town it is today if it wasn't for him, though."

"What'd he do other than enforce the law?" she asked out of nowhere.

Liz stopped what she was doing for a moment and looked up at her. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Confused, Caroline looked at Liz curiously.

"Caroline, you should probably know that Mystic Falls has changed a lot over the years. There's been more murders and attacks lately that I want you to know about."

"Okay," Caroline said. She still didn't understand where she fit into this.

"Let's start off at the start. You come from a very long ancestry filled with hunters."

"Hunters?" Caroline asked, tempted to chuckle. "Sorry, Mom. If this is some kind of ploy to get me to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors, I have to say I look really bad in camouflage."

Liz got serious. "Not that kind of hunting, Caroline. Vampire hunting, and many other sorts of hunting; werewolves included."

Vampires. Caroline remembers the conversation she overheard between her mother and Richard earlier this morning. The term vampire and hunter were thrown around, but Caroline believed it was gangs in town by the names. She also recalled her nightmare, the one where Enzo had tore into her neck like a rabid animal. Vampires. It made sense, but not completely.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Liz continued. "Your father has a better understanding of this all because he's been around it his whole life. It's only been a part of mine when we were still together."

"So, you're telling me that vampires are real?" Caroline felt like her whole life had been a lie, that reality had been a joke all along. Knowing that there's such things as vampires and werewolves, it felt unreal.

"And werewolves and witches."

Caroline's eyes widened. "Witches?"

Liz nodded. "Like I said, it's something that'll take time for you to understand. But I need you to know these things ahead of time before you learn the ropes."

"Learn the ropes?" Caroline didn't like being forced into something she didn't sign up for.

"Of becoming a hunter. It's one of the things your father wants you to do. He wants me to train you in identifying the supernatural, killing the supernatural, and-"

Caroline scoffed and set her coffee down. "Kill them? Mom, I don't think you get this, but I have a bigger heart than that to kill someone."

"These aren't people, Caroline. These are monsters."

Her mother had a point. Caroline deflated and sunk back into the chair, reflecting on this new information. When you think of vampires, you think of a person with fangs that only wants one thing; blood, human blood. And when you think of werewolves, you come up with a large animal that'll rip your throat at without warning. It was hard to picture them possessing human qualities and being genuinely kind. Caroline couldn't even comprehend what to think on this.

Eyeing her daughter, Liz sighed. "I know what you're thinking, and I thought that too when I first found out about this."

"When _did_ you learn about this?" Caroline asked.

"I found out a few years before I met Bill. I got into the whole hunting thing after we got married, sometime before we had you."

She nodded in understanding, wondering why she needed to become a hunter herself. She asked Liz this and it was really simple: to pick up where the Forbes' legacy left off. There was also something about the town needing more helping hands, yet Caroline didn't care about what the town needed. Why did they want a sixteen year old girl compared to a skilled professional that actually knew what they were doing? Caroline was on the opposite side of the spectrum when it came to experience in the supernatural world. The closest thing she knew about vampires was fictional; holy water, mirrors, garlic - which she doubted was the equivalent to the truth.

The phone on Liz's desk rang, snapping Caroline from her thoughts. She saw her mother speak a few words before hanging up and standing up from her seat. There was another animal attack outside of town that she needed to attend to, and she even asked Caroline if she wanted to join her.

After declining, Caroline left the station with a blurry perception on realism. In a few small words, her world changed. For all she knew, the people walking around outside the station could be vampires or werewolves or witches. Maybe something else entirely.

xXx

 _Mystic Falls; September 25, 1864_

"William!" a young boy's voice filtered through the front door of the sheriff's station. His eyes were wide and scared.

"Stefan?" William Forbes said curiously, eyeing the boy with interest. That's when his eyes found the red wounds on the boy's collarbone.

"Something happened to Katherine," he alerted before running back to where he came from.

William let out a growl of frustration and hurried to the large cabinet on the back wall. Inside was guns already filled with wooden bullets and stakes of different sizes and materials. He scanned the rows of weapons quickly and pulled out everything he could carry. He slipped a revolver in his belt and grabbed a few stakes to hide underneath his coat. He knew this was coming, but he was hoping for it to happen later in the night when families were sound asleep and unable to be alerted by the chaos.

William gathered everything he needed and took off towards Fell's Church, where the vampires residing in Mystic Falls would be burned for their wrongdoings. By the time he got there, the last of the vampires were being rallied into the church to meet their unfortunate end.

He saw there was still a carriage holding a vampire, who he suspected to be Katherine. Two men, Damon and Stefan Salvatore, were outside of it looking in, trying to figure out how to get their friend to safety. William watched as the boys got the girl outside and on her feet. Giuseppe was nowhere to be found.

"Boys!" William yelled.

They jumped back at the sound of his voice while they were removing her restraints.

"She's a monster," he stated, taking caution as he marched towards them. "She deserves this. Now, get!"

The brother's looked at each other and didn't seem to be budging.

William pulled out his revolver just as he heard a set of footsteps come from the distance. He looked over Damon's shoulder to see Giuseppe reaching them with a shotgun in his hands, aiming it directly at his sons. Without warning, William put a bullet in Damon's chest after failure to listen to him. The boy flew backwards on the ground followed by his brother desperately grabbing for him in fear of the worse.

Their father didn't look torn over the decision. A apology was about to fall from William's lips, only he was silenced by the sound of another gun going off and a bullet flying through Stefan's chest. The one behind the gun was Giuseppe himself.

William looked over the scene and decided not to mention anything. With the help from a few other men, William placed Katherine back inside the carriage.

"So," a raspy voice said.

William was latching the door when he glanced at the girl who had her hands clutching at the bars in replacement for a window. Katherine's eyes were bloodshot and her lips were stained with dry blood that she tried licking in order to help her cracked lips.

"This is how it's gonna end, huh?" she asked through a cough. "This was the plan all along?"

"Goodbye, Katherine," William said, dodging her questions.

Katherine laughed dryly. "Oh, this isn't goodbye, Will."

The way she said it sent a rawness to his core. Curiosity flashed by in his eyes while a flash of revenge passed by in hers. Second guessing her, he thought it was a ploy to get a rise out of him, but the way she said it, the certainty on her face, made him think otherwise.

xXx

 _Present Day_

Finding herself curled up on the couch with her laptop, Caroline was searching the web for anything on vampires. Since leaving the station, her interest in the supernatural magnified. She thought about going to the homecoming game when she remembered it wouldn't be that fun without any friends to tag along with - that she had none of besides Tyler, who didn't even bother giving her a hello during school.

Caroline was reading an article on the myths and realities of vampires. Her eyes scanned the webpage closely until her eyes found a headline that made her heart stop. It was titled 'Compulsion and Animals'. The article was exactly what it stated; that vampires were able to compel, a state where one is forced to do something under a vampire's control, animals in order to take messages to certain people or spy on them. Her eyes widened.

Someone sent a bird to spy on her. Before finding out about vampires, Caroline would've laughed at the thought. But now it wasn't too far fetched and all too true.

She shook her head and decided that she had enough vampires for the night.

Later on, while it was nearing two in the morning, Caroline woke up on the couch with the very distinct sound of chatter coming from the TV across from her. She fell asleep watching some cheesy soap opera that had lulled her to sleep with ease. On the coffee table sat her open laptop. Although, she remembers turning it off before falling asleep.

A photo was pulled up on the screen. It was one of her favorite's. She and Enzo sat cuddled up together on her sofa back in Chicago. They were smiling, and they were happy. She wished she could go back to when everything was easier; before the vampires, before his disappearance. She figured that she'd live a happy life without a kink in the chain. Only, that wasn't what she was destined to have.

"Hey, you awake?" Liz's voice came from the entryway.

Caroline didn't remember hearing her come in. "Oh, yeah," she said softly, reaching out to slam her laptop closed.

Liz looked tired and at the same time agitated.

"Did something happen?" The sleep in Caroline's voice thinned and she was coming to her senses.

Liz yawned. "We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?"

Caroline complied with a nod of her head and sank back into the couch. She reached out, grabbed the television remote, and shut off the TV, letting the darkness and silence settle around her and sink into her bones, whisking her to sleep.


End file.
